Grants

Grantmaking Priorities

The Grand Haven Area Community Foundation will consider grants that seek to enhance the quality of life and promote a healthy, inclusive, collaborative, and diverse community in Northwest Ottawa County.

Click the icons below to learn more about our individual priorities and how you can help support their funds!

Grant Application Process

The Grand Haven Area Community Foundation is proud of our role as a community grantmaker. We aim to increase the capacity of the nonprofit sector by making strategic community investments in programs that advance our mission of improving and enhancing the Northwest Ottawa County area.

Step 1: Submit a Letter of Inquiry

If you have an idea for a project, you may submit a Letter of Inquiry at any time. We recommend that you submit your Inquiry a minimum of 4-6 weeks before the grant deadline.

Step 2: Letter of Inquiry Reviewed

Within 2 weeks of submission, our team will review your Letter of Inquiry to determine whether the project aligns with our grantmaking priorities, then respond to you.

Step 3: Complete a Grant Application

Your Letter of Inquiry helps determine whether the project aligns with our grantmaking priorities. If eligible, the appropriate grant application will be made available to you through the online application portal.

Step 4: Grant Applications Reviewed

Our team conducts a thorough due diligence process on all submitted grant applications. A site visit may be scheduled prior to review by our Grants Committee.

Youth Grant Program

The Grand Haven Area Community Foundation Youth Advisory Council awards funding annually to support local programs and projects that work to seed and expand programming and opportunities for the young people in our community.

The same grant process and guidelines apply, however, please ensure your inquiry addresses one or more of the YAC Grantmaking Priorities. Larger youth-focused grants may be reviewed by both the Grants Committee and the Youth Advisory Council for a co-funding opportunity.

Grant Impact Stories

Last month we announced that we were giving away three $500 mini-grants on Facebook, and 2400 likes later, we have the winners! While there were fewer entrants this time around, the online participation was higher than in the previous two rounds, with several photos getting over 500 likes.

The Board of the Grand Haven Area Community Foundation (GHACF) is pleased to announce seven second-round grant awards totaling $285,000 to support the northern Ottawa County community, including a $125,000 grant to the Ottawa County Parks Foundation for their Grand...

On March 2nd, a $7000 grant to St. John’s Episcopal Church to bring Project Ñ to west Michigan became a reality. Denise Soler Cox presented her documentary “Being ñ,” which documents her personal journey of self-discovery as an “ñ”, and led a panel discussion by three...